HANAHAKI SYNDROME
by Maru de Kusanagi
Summary: The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from unrequited love, where the patient's throat will fill up with flower, they will then proceed to throw, and cough up the petals, (sometimes even the flowers). One of the only ways for the disease to 'disappear' is if, the said person returns the feeling.We can only hope and pray that the crushes favorite flower isn't a rose.


OK, I wasn't going to write this, but I had a plot idea listening Roxette's " _What's she like?_ " and later saw a short manga on twitter about "hanahaki disease" and had to look for it. So, this is Ignoct (one-sided) and NoctLun (and maybe the only I'll ever do). So, sit and read.

* * *

 **HANAHAKI SYNDROME  
** **Maru de Kusanagi**

 **.**

.

When he started to recall the symptoms, Ignis had to admit that earlier signs were a year before of the day he was living today.

He was training with other glaives, just finished college, Gladio was already placed as the shield of the future king and Noctis just finished high school.

Suddenly, Ignis felt like he was choking, his lungs felt heavy, something got in his throat and he started to cough.

"Oi, Iggy, what's up?", exclaimed Gladio, hitting his back in order to help him. Ignis felt something in his mouth and put his fingers inside, catching the strange object. He looked at it, a little surprised.

"A leaf…"

A small and green leaf, it looked like a sylleblossom's.

"Maybe you breathe it… But how? This is a closed space…"

Ignis dismissed the signs, thinking it was something without importance. He had, of course, occasional cough fits and sometimes chest pain, but he accused it was stress.

Noctis was his usual self, brat but still too dear for him to really be angry at him. His friendship with Prompto helped to open up and be less cold toward other persons. He also started to work in a fast food close to the main plaza of capital, just in the doors of the citadel. Cor complained and Ignis neither was happy with the prince acting like a commoner, but the king wanted to his son to be able to be the more normal life he could have.

The second symptom blood in his lips. A girl had the shame to wait for Noctis break lunch and Ignis was bringing him a change of clothes when he saw the little bastard kissing his prince. She even had the shame to blush and then the pain in Ignis' chest returned, and something that tastes like iron filled his mouth. He touched his lips and saw the blood, and with a handkerchief trapped the object that had come: more leaves, and a small branch soaked in blood. His own blood.

* * *

King Regis finally decided to give a date for his abdication, and the marriage and joining of the Lucis Caelum and Nox Fleuret houses union were finally confirmed and a date given.

The young princess came to love in the palace to get used to the ways of Insomnia and also to gain the approbation of the people, something it wasn't too hard since as part of the Oracle line, Luna was deeply loved and respected by all. Ignis was proud of Noctis when the engagement ritual was made and he put the ring in his bride to finger, but since that day the pain, breathing problems, and cough started to get worse.

And it when he vomited many leaves and unopened sylleblossoms flowers that he decided to look it up and investigate what kind of curse was cast on him.

A video of a girl online describing symptoms picked his interest and, finally, a word - _hanahaki_ \- appeared.

.

 ** _Hanahaki Disease_**  
 _The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from unrequited love, where the patient's throat will fill up with flower, they will then proceed to throw, and cough up the petals, (sometimes even the flowers). One of the only ways for the disease to 'disappear' is if, the said person returns the feeling (it can't be resolved with friendship, it has to be genuine feelings of love). The infection can also be removed through surgery, though the feelings disappear along with the petals. If they choose nether options, or the feeling is not returned in time, then the patient's lungs will fill up with flowers, and will eventually suffocate._  
 _There is no specific flower for the disease, but it'll either be the crushes favorite type of flower, or their favorite color. We can only hope for the patients and pray that the crushes favorite flower isn't a type of rose._

 _._

Ignis sat in front of his laptop with an unknown feeling. Surely that was really a myth, in all his life had he ever heard of this "disease", that it didn't even was suggested on any book he could recall. It sounded like something came out of the silly novels Gladio read or something Prompto could make up, but if this disease existed, how come it never was even mentioned in the usual chat of people? And the cause was unrequited love? Meaning he was in love with somebody?

Ridiculous.

Next day he arrived tired to the citadel, feeling sick and passing by the other persons without actually seeing them. Prompto tried to tell him something when he opened the door of Noctis' office, but he didn't care- it was already late in the morning and the work needed to be done, the wedding was in a few weeks and Noctis still had to fix his dress.

But his mind went blank when he opened the door and discovered the royal couple making out (and something more) over the office table. Lunafreya's hands were in Noctis hair and neck, and the prince's on her waist and back, joining their lips and moving inside her without shame.

"Oh by the six!"

"Ignis!"

Feeling his face red and a new wave of coughs, Ignis excused himself and closed the door, to run to his office. In the trash can, he vomited small petals and then he had to admit that his infection was real and that only two possibilities were available for him.

* * *

A week before the wedding ceremony, he had an appointment with a specialist, who explained him the symptoms, prognosis and treatments options.

"Actually", said the professional, "calling it a 'disease' is inaccurate. After some very close family member suffered this condition and some even survived, it made wonder how was possible for humanity to be afflicted with the hanahaki and still be around. So I focused my investigations and studies in it, and I came to a really perplexing conclusion: is not a disease, but actually a syndrome."

Ignis wasn't an illiterate person and comprehended that syndrome was a group of symptoms that could be connected to a certain list of maladies, medicines or even mental health.

"Before Eos even existed, even before the crystal or the Six, there was another world, Pulse. The goddess of death and time, Etro, loved humanity and gave them a piece of the chaos."

"The chaos _is_ inside of humans?"

"The chaos is the base of the human heart. It gave them desire, hopes, dreams, nightmares, fears and mostly, the ability to feel sympathy for each other and the possibility of love. The chaos can be terrible, ugly and dark, but in it, it mixes everything that exists in the universe, and it gave humanity the ability to grow, to love."

"When Pulse was finally destroyed in the war of humans and the gods, Eos was born, humans were reborn and the chaos still existed in their hearts in the form of a seed. This seed usually grows inside everyone, when we experience love toward other persons: for a parent, a friend, a brother or a crush. My studies showed that most of the symptoms of the hanahaki were present in these situations, and only when the feelings become too big for the host's body it turned into a disease. And when the person learned understood and learned to accept and name those feelings it could lessen the symptoms, and sometimes even completely recover from it."

"So, you say this syndrome is actually the base of human heart… what about the surgery many websites talk about it."

Here the medic showed some discomfort, even anger.

"Is a terrible thing that still exists. Some cultures believe that the chaos seed is bad for the people, a sort of original sin, a fault that humanity committed against the gods - some legends about the fall of Ifrit refers to it. So they focused in a way to punish, control or even remove the seed of chaos from humans, leaving empty shells behind. Like a sort of conscious zombies, unable to love, or connect to others."

Ignis sat back on his chair. There was a really radical way to fix his problem, or a hard one - that could always hurt him- that implied to him to learn to deal with what he was feeling. But he was a professional - and most of all, a friend of Noctis, who he loved with all his being. If he decided to remove his chaos seed, he was sure Noctis would notice and he will be more hurt if he did confess his real feelings.

He closed his eyes meanwhile he recalled his most loved memories:

He could see Noctis' smile when they meet the very first time,

when he put the engagement ring on Luna's hand,

 _her lips on his mouth_ ,

the way Noctis moved and

 _his breath heavy and his moans,_

his tears when he was alone in his room and

 _his smile when Ignis cook for him and_

the way that whore kissed his Noctis that day and-

 _And-_

And he thought of himself, waking up in a hospital bed, alone and feeling empty. There was no pain but neither love or loneliness. Recalling Noctis smiles didn't bright his days, neither he felt proud of the young man.

The doctor looked at him, anxious and uncertain. How many persons have looked for his diagnosis, his answers and finally decided to look for an unethical medic and go for the surgery? How many persons had he lost?

"I believe- no, I know- I can deal with these symptoms.i really appreciate for the time you gave and the information, it's was very useful. I'll be in contact if I experience a bigger inconvenience. Thank you."

* * *

The wedding was the most beautiful Eos saw: Luna in her pure white dress, crowned with sylleblossoms, Noctis elegant in his royal attire. Gladio cried next to him, meanwhile, Prompto took more pictures than in all his life. Ignis smiled kind to the couple, feeling the pain in his chest and the bough trying to escape from his mouth, scratching his throat. He swallowed hard and a tear fell by his cheek.

Noctis looked at him and smiled so bright like when he was that small child. So happy. Ignis returned the smile.

He was happy.

.

.

 _ **FIN**_


End file.
